The Bells of Christmas
by kathey'ssis
Summary: This is in responce to the challenge to come up with a story around a Christmas Carol.  it talks about sub for Santa so not for little ones who still believe.


This is in response to the challenge to write a story based on a Christmas Carol. I'm sure this one is nowhere as good as the one that started this challenge but here goes.

**The Bells of Christmas**

**I heard the bells on Christmas day  
>Their old familiar carols play,<br>And wild and sweet the words repeat  
>Of peace on earth, good will to men.<strong>

John Gage heard that song being practiced as he entered the station for the start of his shift. Several of the men on the outgoing shift were planning to go to a nursing home in their response area and sing Christmas carols to the residents there.As the men filed out of the station confirming where and what time to meet, John noticed the smiles on their faces and wished he could go with them.

As he and Roy went through their morning check of the squad and their supplies the melody of the song was ever present in his mind. They would be working Christmas Eve this year and John listened as Roy told how his wife was going to keep the kids up in their rooms until he got home so that he could watch them open their presents.

John questioned how successful JoAnne would be, but the more he thought about it the more small little suggestions he had to offer his partner.

"You know, she could always feed them breakfast in bed; you know those small individual boxes of cereal and some fruit. Oranges are popular this time of year and they take time to peal and then eat one section at a time.

"I'm sure JoAnne can find a lot of Christmas stories she could read to them until you get home too," Johnny added.

"That's a pretty good idea," Roy commented as he slid the heavy trauma box back into its assigned spot in the side compartment. "I just hope we don't get a late run. It's going to be hard enough for Jo to keep the kids occupied if I get home on time I don't think she stands a chance if I'm late. I think I'm going to tell her not to worry about it if I'm late. We'll still have lots of time together to play with all of their toys when I get home. Chris is getting his first two wheeled bike this year, I'm looking forward to teaching him how to ride it."

"What are your plans for Christmas this year?" Roy asked knowing John had no family to go to.

"I don't know yet, me and some of my friends are trying to plan something for the day after Christmas. We'll have a lot of fun."

**And thought how, as the day had come,  
>The belfries of all Christendom<br>Had rolled along the unbroken song  
>Of peace on earth, good will to men.<strong>

The next shift the men filed into the day room for their morning cup of coffee and donuts when they noticed some men in overalls loading half a dozen very large appliance type boxes into the corner under the chalk board. The men were curious but the boxes were taped shut so there was no way of them peeking without it being known. Still curious they all fell in for roll call as Captain Stanley irritatingly proceeded with firefighting business as if it were really June and there were not boxes filling up the day room.

Finally the announcements from headquarters had been read, the training schedule and inspections for the day had been detailed, chores had been assigned and then Captain Stanley lowered his clip board.

"I'm sure you men have noticed the boxes in the day room." Finally he was going to talk about the elephant in the room. "We all know how the department is encouraging us to get out there and perform some community service especially this time of year. Well it just so happens that I heard from Captain Hookraider that his team really enjoyed singing at the nursing home so I called and asked if we could go in too. Well it just so happens that they are actually booked up through till after New Years but they said we can come in and sing love songs for Valentine's Day.

Even though they don't need us to come sing to them they do need a little help getting the resident's Christmas presents wrapped. While I was at it I volunteered you all to wrap the gifts for the group home for battered women and children just a short distance away. So, let's get our chores done quickly so that we can get all of those gifts wrapped so these people can have a joyous Christmas this year.

Roll call was broken up by the tones going off. The station was called to a structure fire that turned out to be a small apartment building. Someone had gone off to work and left their Christmas tree lights on, hot lights on a dry tree made for a fast moving fire. Fortunately a neighbor was proficient with a fire extinguisher which bought the firemen time.

Thanks to the fact that the presents were stacked to the side to make room for a cute little Christmas Village under the tree a quick salvage blanket thrown over the stack managed to save most of the Christmas presents.

The little Christmas Village under the tree was history, as was the arm chair and stereo that were next to the tree. The Christmas wrapping was blackened and the robes and sweaters were sure to be permeated with the smell of smoke but things were not nearly as bad as they could have been. When all was said and done there were four apartments that had to be evacuated at least for a time. For three of the families there was a good chance that they would be back in their apartments before Christmas, two of them, including the people who lived in the apartment where the fire started, had family close by to stay with until repairs could be made.

The firefighters left feeling like they had done a good thing and those displaced by the fire would learn to appreciate Christmas and families a little more after their experience but all in all it was little more than a big inconvenience.

Three car accidents, two caused by drivers coming home from Christmas parties where they'd had a little too much to drink, and one rescue of a little old lady who was trapped when some kids knocked over the Christmas decorations at the mall, later, Captain Stanley postponed the scheduled inspections so that the boys could get started on the gift wrapping.

**Till ringing, singing on its way  
>The world revolved from night to day,<br>A voice, a chime, a chant sublime  
>Of peace on earth, good will to men.<strong>

The dishes from the late lunch were stacked in the sink as the guys talked amongst themselves trying to decide if they should ask Santa for a dishwasher or a maid. Once the table was cleared off the wrapping paper came out and Captain Stanley and Mike started reading the instructions that explained the system. Basically each person had been assigned a clear bag that was filled with the gifts that were to be given to them. They were to be wrapped and placed back in the bag with the paper giving the person's name and room number inside the bag so that the person handing them out could easily read through the bag to see where the gifts were to go.

Each of the six men managed to choose their own section of the day room and taking one bag a piece at a time, started wrapping.

Chet kept tearing the paper and having to tape it back together, Cap kept getting the tape stuck to his hairy arms and pulling the hair off. Then the tape wouldn't stick because it was covered with hair.

"I'm beginning to remember why I pay to have my gifts wrapped at the mall," Hank spoke up, holding the patch on his arm until it stopped hurting.

"You'll get no sympathy from me, Cap," Mike spoke up, being the only one who dared to. "You're the one who volunteered us for this job."

Roy was starting each package by tearing the tape he expected to need and sticking it to the edge of the table before choosing the wrapping paper. He didn't seem to enjoy the act of service but he didn't complain either.

"How are we supposed to wrap some of these gifts without boxes to put them in?" Marco grumbled.

"What are you complaining about, Marco, you're wrapping a robe and slippers, I've got a teddy bear and a basket ball to wrap," Chet offered his complaints. John just simply took the ball from him and wrapped the paper around it pulling all four corners up and wrapping some ribbon around them before taping down whatever paper was still sticking out. He then turned to a still frustrated Marco and made an envelope out of gift paper for him to stuff his robe and slippers inside of.

Five men watched John with surprised fascination. It was Roy that gave voice to their observation. "You've done this before."

"Once or twice," Johnny answered with a shrug of his shoulders, then picked up the next bag out of the box and went back to his designated corner of the room and started sorting out the contents of the next bag before positioning a toy baby bottle in a dolls hands and starting to wrap the doll as if he were wrapping it in a blanket. John then took a moment to admire the little dress and matching hair bows with a smile on his face before wrapping them together.

Having learned a few wrapping tricks the men kept an eye on John while they went on with their wrapping with new energy.

When Cap gave in and called for lights out the men had wrapped three of the six boxes full of gifts that were in the day room. They had until five days before Christmas to get all of the gifts wrapped and delivered, they didn't have to finish them all in one night. The other shifts had agreed to help wrap if there was anything still around while they were on shift.

Cap joked, "Alright men let's get to bed and let some sugar plums dance through our heads I don't want to hear a one of you stirring not even a mouse."

The men all laughed as they rose to their feet and made their way toward the dorm and their turnouts that were already set up. It was Chet who left saying, "Yes, Dad. Thanks for the bed time story."

Unfortunately it wasn't a mouse but the tones that sounded nearly as soon as everyone had fallen to sleep. The men were called out to a bar fight and that marked the beginning of the down fall of the feelings of Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.

**And in despair I bowed my head  
>"There is no peace on earth," I said,<br>"For hate is strong and mocks the song  
>Of peace on earth, good will to men."<strong>

The bar was one they had been to before, and would likely be called out to again. Unless the police closed it down they'd probably get called out there a couple more times before Christmas. This time the bar patrons had partaken in higher quantities that usual and those patrons of pale skin took offence of those patrons of darker skin color. When the men of station 51 arrived there were ten victims of pool cues and broken bottles, including the first police officer to arrive on scene. There had been more of the drunks than the one police officer and this wasn't a time when the 'Police Presence' was enough to keep them safe.

Before the firemen entered the building ten cops raced in to get everyone under control and most of them handcuffed. One man had been shot dead but not before he severely cut the police officer's arm with a broken wine bottle. He also had an open compound fracture of the arm after being swarmed by several more patrons after shots were fired.

More paramedics were called in and several victims left for the hospital in the back of police cars before the paramedics arrived.

After taking the police officer and one other gunshot victim to the hospital, John and Roy were called out to another shooting; this one was an attempted suicide. She'd probably live from her injuries but x-rays would confirm the bullet shot through her chest severed the spinal cord leaving her a paraplegic and all because her husband had left her after years of telling her she wasn't worth the ground she walked on.

Before the shift was over there were two auto accidents caused by drunk drivers, one of which placed a young girl and her date in the intensive care unit. They were just coming home from their school's Christmas Formal when they were hit broadside in an intersection. Their parents would be pacing the floor for a couple of days before they knew for sure if their children would live; even then there was no hope of them getting home for Christmas.

When Roy arrived at the station for his shift just a week before Christmas he was disappointed to see that there was still a large box of gifts to wrap sitting in the day room. It didn't appear that the other shifts were doing their share.

Before Roy made his way to the locker room to get into uniform Captain Stanley approached him. "Roy, could I have a word with you?"

The senior paramedic was led to the back corner of the dorm since the previous shift's captain was working on his end of shift paperwork in the office.

"Is something wrong, Cap?" Roy was worried.

Roy already knew that his partner had pulled three overtime shifts in the last week, it was something he did every year around this time and each year he said no more but when the holiday season rolled around he still got raked in to fill the shifts vacated by sick firemen and those needing time off for school plays, recitals and other family activities.

Ever since his aunt died, John was alone for the holidays and being without a family at Christmas time was hard. John responded to the loneliness by working as much as he could get away with.

The fact that sometimes most others in his same position chose to turn to alcohol, fighting and sometimes suicide during this time of year made working the extra shifts twice as hard as any other time of the year.

"You know John's been pulling some overtime shifts." Hank pulled Roy's thoughts back on the conversation.

"Yeah," Roy responded with a hint of disapproval in his voice. "He does this ever year around this time, and then he'll take a few days off after the New Year and take a relaxing trip."

"Yeah, well I'm sure I don't have to tell you that he's had some rough calls on those extra shifts. I just found out that the police officer that was involved in that brawl a week and a half ago got gangrene in his arm, they had to amputate it yesterday."

Roy grimaced at that news and studied his feet until he was sure he could look at his captain with complete control.

"He's on a run now with the previous shift. When he gets back I'm going to stand the squad down for half an hour so he can shower and change. Captain Tollins said that he was up most of the night last night wrapping presents. Would you try and talk to him and make sure he's alright, I mean really alright. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling this gift wrapping thing wasn't a good idea for him, like it might be bringing back some not so happy memories of Christmases past for him or something."

"Yeah I'll talk to him," Roy responded. "By the way, Cap, I thought the other shifts were going to help with all those gifts."

"They've been busy, you know how it is this time of year, you hardly spend any time at all in the station, According to Ron, they ran out of wrapping paper, John bought some more between runs yesterday."

"Just talk to your partner and let me know if he needs some time off." Hank repeated the reason for this discussion.

"I will," Roy affirmed then moved to the locker room to get dressed for work.

The squad came back while the rest of A shift was having roll call and a tired John rolled out of the cab, his uniform covered with mud, blood and motor oil. They had just come from assisting another station at an auto accident. "Sorry I'm late for roll call, Cap," John called out.

"I understand," Cap responded, "Go ahead and hit the showers you look like you need it. The squad's stood down until you're cleaned up."

"So that's why we didn't get a run before we got back to the station," John joked as he moved with haste to the locker room.

John spent a little extra time in the shower; he was not only dirty he had gotten cold and needed the warm water to help him warm up again. Once he was dressed, Roy made sure he ate something and then the calls started in earnest. The first call of the day was to rescue a mall worker who was doing some maintenance on the Christmas village when his ladder fell over leaving him hung up in the top of Santa's castle. His worse injuries were his pride and a dislocated shoulder so the paramedics sent him in to the hospital with the ambulance attendants while they responded to a call of troubled breathing at the other end of the mall. While Roy took that patient to the hospital John responded to a traffic accident in the parking lot and he was beginning to think the department needed to set up a fire fighting crew in the mall this time of year.

And so the day proceeded, they did manage to get a call somewhere other than the mall but they got called out a lot as the pressure of the holidays weighed heavy on weak hearts and fried nerves throughout their response area and into the next. Finally, around seven at night, the calls started to slow down and John talked Roy into stopping at the store to pick up some more wrapping paper, ribbon and tape.

Roy pitched in to pay for the wrapping supplies and on the drive back to the station he finally felt like he could have a non-work related conversation. "So tell me, where did you learn how to wrap presents like you do?"

John hesitated to respond turning away from his partner to look out the window. Then as he faced away he started to speak. "My aunt used to take in wrapping to make extra money for the holidays. All I really had to do was watch her for a while and then I was able to help. With the two of us working together we were able to take in more and make more money. That's what we bought Christmas with every year."

"So I take it you got Christmas from these sub for Santa programs before." Roy made his question in a form of a statement.

"Not like these." John turned back to his partner. "When I was on the reservation there was always a Good Will truck that brought stuff up every year. Most of it was used and broken toys and a lot of worn out clothes. Several of the women and family members got together and went through the stuff to see what was repairable. I went with my mom one year before she was killed. My job was to sort the torn sheets and worn out t-shirts into separate boxes to be used for cleaning rags. I filled a couple of boxes the size of the ones back at the station with T-shirts and another one with sheets and worn out flannel night gowns.

"Most of the toys that were repairable were for little kids, you know five and under. There were a few games but they most always had missing parts. Sometimes they could put two or three together and have a whole game set, but not always. The people on the reservation did their best to make sure everyone got something but the older kids seven and older would usually get some little baby toy. There were a lot of times I would have rather had nothing.

"It's kind of nice to see that all the stuff we've been wrapping is new. I sure wouldn't want to be part of a program like we had on the reservation. That wasn't sub for Santa, in my mind that was a truck that got lost on the way to the dump."

Roy's heart went out to his partner. He had been so selfish most of his life. "What did you and your friends finally decide to do the day after Christmas?"

"Oh that," John turned away again, "they all have other plans. I'll probably pull another overtime shift and then take a vacation later in January when the travel season is at his low and places aren't so crowded."

"You could always come home with me. The kids would love to let you help them learn how to play with their toys," Roy offered, then wondered if that wasn't more like what his partner had just told him about.

"Nah, Christmas is for families, you don't need me butting in on yours," Johnny answered and then they were then at the station so the talking turned to more generic topics that wouldn't reveal personal information to someone John didn't want to know.

That night the calls were surprisingly quiet. When John slipped out of bed after a couple of hours of sleep to resume wrapping presents, Roy got up with him. An hour later the rest of the crew started to trickle in and by the time morning tones sounded they had the last of the gifts wrapped and back in the boxes to be delivered back to the nursing home and rescue center. When they were released from duty the boxes were loaded into the back of three trucks belonging to Roy, Captain Stanley and Mike Stoker to be delivered where they belonged.

When the men of A-shift arrived for work the morning of Christmas Eve most of them looked a little tired. The father's had all stayed up late assembling the toys that their wives would get to slip under the trees after the children had all gone to bed. Chet had attended a Christmas party that lasted a lot later than was wise for him to be out the night before going on shift. But it was only once a year.

When the men staggered into the locker room to get into uniform they each found a brightly wrapped package placed on the floor in front of their lockers. Once they had their uniforms on they returned to their cars to retrieve the packages there which were added to the ones set out before making a small mound of Christmas waiting to be unwrapped.

John, it was to be learned, had gotten called in a two that morning after Carlson had gotten hit over the head by an empty wine bottle when they rolled on a domestic dispute. He'd be fine but he did get a mild concussion and was stood down for a shift. The good news there if there was any, was that by the time they finished this shift John would have worked enough hours that it was against regulations to work anymore without taking at least twenty-four hours off. That meant he wouldn't be working Christmas Day, no matter who called in sick. He was given the choice of going home with Roy or Captain Stanley, but under no circumstances was he going to be allowed to spend the day alone.

As John mulled over the choice of which way to go the day proved to be just as bad as they had all feared that it would be, one call after another from the mall to the homes in the next response area. Heart attacks to burning Christmas trees and accidents with drivers and pedestrians impaired by liquid holiday cheer.

The firefighting wives had sent in crock pots full of homemade soups and fresh baked breads along with cookies and other Christmas goodies. So the men were able to eat whenever they could. At ten o'clock that night the crock pots were empty and they all worked together to wash them and get them to the prospective cars before falling into their beds.

At midnight they were called out to a structure fire at a warehouse that was being used as an overflow homeless shelter. When they arrived, the fire was so involved that it had spread to the roof of a nearby apartment building. The police were in the process of evacuating the people there as the firemen started first to get the fire out at the apartment building because the warehouse was already a total loss.

They had only been there for a short while when the police confirmed that the fire was arson, started by someone who didn't want to have a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

**Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:  
>"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;<br>The wrong shall fail, the right prevail  
>With peace on earth, good will to men." <strong>

The fire was just starting to give in to the water and efforts of the firefighters when the priests of a nearby church interrupted their Christmas Mass to gather all of those evacuated into the church where it was warm, and patrons started bringing in their own pots of warm soup. Some of them were adding water to make sure there was enough to go around but it was warm and something the people needed.

When the fire was finally out and the hoses were being drained, the men shivered in the cold in their wet turn out gear. The priests who had gathered the evacuated once again returned to gather the fire fighters. They knew the firemen needed something warm to eat just as did the others.

The Chief agreed and the hoses were left to lay for just a short time and the men gathered into an already crowed Chapel where they were each handed a cup filled with something warm.

As the men sipped on their hot drinks of coffee, hot chocolate, spiced apple cider and spiced orange juice, they listened to the choir sing the hymns of Christmas, not the songs of Santa coming to town or a reindeer with a red nose, but the hymns about the birth of the Son of God.

The firemen looked around as they warmed their hands with the cups they were holding. The chapel was packed. Packed with people dressed in their very best and prettiest Christmas finery sitting next to someone smelling of smoke wearing their pajamas or perhaps a robe and slippers, and mingled amongst them were those who were long overdue for a chance meeting with a bar of soap.

Along with the warmth they were drinking in, the men were filled with peace as one of the priests stepped up and spoke of acts of service throughout the year. He ended by quoting a verse from St. John 25: 40. "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these your brethren you have done it unto me."

The disposable cups were starting to find their way to the garbage can strategically placed when Captain Stanley turned to focus on the choir that was once again singing.

"They didn't stop Christmas from coming, it came, it came without packages, it came without bows, it came without stockings, it came without fancy lit up trees. Perhaps Christmas really is just a little bit more." Hank stood with moist eyes as he paraphrased from his children's favorite Christmas story 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'

"Amen," Roy responded followed by the rest of their crew and several others who were standing in the crowded little chapel.

Author's Note: If you can find the time Christmas day take a plate of cookies or some Christmas bread to the fire station or police station nearest you. They are giving up their holiday to keep all of us safe and unfortunately they see the worst the season has to offer, for that is where they are needed most.

Peace on Earth and Good will toward men is common throughout the season but those acts usually don't require the men and women of Law enforcement and firefighting to get involved. There are plenty of places where they are the Good will that is needed. Let's make an opportunity to tell them thank you.

Merry Christmas to All and to all a full heart, May the New Year be all you deserve and then some.


End file.
